Family Engagement workshops can be conducted as a single session or as an extended series. The workshops can be conducted solely for parents, or for parents and children. Any program in this catalog can be tailored to a Family Engagement Workshop, but the programs below are specifically designed for parents.

LEAP can collaborate with any school on a Parents As Arts Partners (PAAP) grant.

LEAP’s Adult ELL program uses drama, movement, and games to make English language learners feel more comfortable and confident when they read, write, and speak English. Hands-on activities help adults develop strong vocabulary and grammar.

HOW TO TALK SO KIDS WILL LISTEN AND LISTEN SO KIDS WILL TALK

This is a skill-based program that empowers parents to manage their children's behavior in a respectful manner and promotes improved communication skills. The four main areas covered are: Acknowledging Feelings; Engaging Cooperation; Alternatives to Punishment; and Encouraging Autonomy.

BE SUPPORTIVE WITH YOUR SPACE

Stepping back and not rescuing our kids is what promotes independence, competence and coping skills, all things needed to handle life and it's challenges. This workshop demonstrates techniques and models the behavior needed by parents to be supportive and encouraging without preventing their children from making their own decisions.

BUILDING RESILIENCY IN OUR CHILDREN

Teaching our kids coping skills to deal with life and it's inevitable difficulties is a challenge. Bouncing back keeps us going on the path towards happiness and success. This workshop explains the keys to helping our children cope and deal with these life issues.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND CHARACTER STRENGTHS - THE NON-ACADEMIC KEYS TO SUCCESS

This workshop focuses on much needed development of EQ and all that goes into making our kids good, productive human beings.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY

Down-time and unstructured play promotes creativity, imagination, and overall well-being. This workshop shows parents how to feel comfortable and safe, while creating a home that allows for play.

GED PREPARATION

Parents improve their basic writing and mathematics skills in this 10-to-20 session program designed to help parents prepare for the GED exam. Creative approaches to essay writing and mathematics give adult students the confidence and tools to succeed on the GED test. This program includes a comprehensive GED preparation workbook and materials for up to 20 participants.

USING COMPUTERS: BASIC SKILLS AND INTERNET ACCESS

This program uses the school’s computers to help parents feel comfortable in the digital age. Parents learn word processing applications, how to create resumes and cover letters, and how to use spreadsheets to track data and cre- ate budgets. Additionally, they learn how to use the internet to find job opportunities, look for activities and programs in their neighborhoods, and research answers to their questions.

JEWELRY MAKING / JEWELRY COOPERATIVE

Parents express their creativity by making beautiful handmade jewelry including pins, tie tacks, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. This work- shop is geared to a wide audience, allowing everyone to work at their own skill level and pace, and leave with a unique product of which they can feel proud. A jewelry cooperative teaches basic business skills, including pricing and calculating profit and loss. Some schools have used this as a way of raising funds for the PTA.

FASHION DESIGN

A LEAP consultant introduces parents to creative design as it relates to clothing and accessories in the fashion industry. Parents learn the fundamentals of design, while studying the world of fashion and its connection to history, business, and culture. Parents create fashion sketches and select fabric swatches in multi-workshop series. Parents create actual fashion products.

T-SHIRTS AND MORE

A LEAP fabric artist teaches parents how to make attractive painted, stenciled, and/or tie-dyed t-shirts. Participants can also learn to use the resist-dye meth- od to create designs for scarves, napkins, and mats.

MAKING ART FROM EVERYDAY OBJECTS

Parents create a personalized object such as a decorative mirror or picture frame, and learn how to design and decorate their home with readily available, inexpensive objects. A LEAP artist shows parents how to make good study spaces for children, organize their homes, and create better storage areas.

ZUMBATM

A LEAP instructor, certified in Zumba, introduces a fun and entertaining way to promote healthy living. Through this Latin American dance-based program, parents unwind and de-stress while building a sense of community and promoting wellness to their students through leading by example.

A LEAP consultant helps parents discover how to cook tasty, nutritional, child-friendly dishes from various cultures, in order to build healthy eating habits. Parents are also shown how to use cooking to improve their children's

math and reading skills. In multi-session programs, a trip to the supermarket is included.

HOLIDAY CARDS AND GIFT WRAPPING

Parents learn to make exciting decorative cards to give as gifts, use for holidays, or sell, using a variety of printmaking and art techniques. A LEAP artist also demonstrates how to create personalized packages, unique boxes, and gift bags.

Parents create original holiday decorations, such as candles, puppets, giant paper flowers for Mother's Day or Easter, Kwanza masks and dolls, wearable Halloween masks, dragon kites for the Chinese New Year, or elegant Easter eggs decorated with rhinestones and sequins.

THE LIVELY VISUAL ARTS

A LEAP artist teaches parents a variety of art techniques including painting, drawing, and sculpting. Parents then create original works of art, inspiring them to discover their hidden potential and express their feelings creatively.

SCRAPBOOKS AND FAMILY ALBUMS

Parents create their own hardbound photograph albums to capture family memories. They make front and back covers and bind blank pages using Asian- style bookbinding techniques, and create personalized scrapbook pages using mementos, decorative papers, and photographs.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Parents learn to take better photographs and tell their family stories through images. A LEAP photographer teaches parents about composition, texture, value, and lighting techniques. Parents also learn how to use the manual settings on their cameras to take truly unique pictures.

INTERNATIONAL CRAFTS

This program teaches parents activities and crafts from around the world—from weaving to candle making—that they can do with their children to increase literacy and cultural understanding.

PUPPET MAKING

Parents learn how to make shadow, giant, paper bag, sock, finger, felt, and marionette puppets. A LEAP artist also shows them how puppetry builds confidence in shy and reticent children by freeing them to speak up and share their opinions "through" the puppet.

CULTURES: AFRICAN, LATIN AMERICAN, ASIAN OR NATIVE AMERICAN

LEAP consultants introduce various African, Latin American, Asian or Native American cultures, and help parents explore the customs, languages, beliefs, and art forms of these cultures through slide shows, cooking, music, and art.

NEW YORK CITY RESOURCES AND EDUCATIONAL GAMES

Parents learn about the many cultural and educational resources throughout New York City and their neighborhoods. They learn about holiday and summer programs, free classes and events, as well as cultural institutions, parks, and library services. Parents also learn simple games and activities to help improve their children’s academic skills and to engage them during weekends and school vacations.

DEVELOPING FINE MOTOR SKILLS

A LEAP artist teaches parents how helping their children develop fine motor skills improves handwriting, decreases frustration, and helps them succeed in school. Parents learn a wide variety of simple craft projects—from story collages to jewelry making—that they can recreate at home with their children.

MATH GAMES, PUZZLES, AND CRAFTS

Parents and children learn how to create fun math board games and puzzles; practice using a ruler; improve their problem solving skills; master arithmetic concepts; and develop reasoning skills. Craft activities such as jewelry making and weaving emphasize shapes, patterns, graphing, and scale.

ITSY BITSY LEARNERS: AGES 1-3

In this series, parents learn to transform everyday events into opportunities to help their very young children develop math and literacy skills. For instance, shopping becomes an educational adventure as children actively look for and identify colors, shapes, and objects. Parents also learn to make wordless books, play musical games, and make simple foods to encourage language acquisition and vocabulary development.

LITERACY GAMES AND ACTIVITIES: AGES 4-6

This series teaches parents simple, but effective, literacy activities that they can recreate at home with their children. For example, parents learn to make collage art and books to develop vocabulary and sequencing skills. By making finger puppets, forming whole-body letter shapes, and playing word bingo, parents learn ways to strengthen their children’s phonics skills and language abilities.

LITERACY GAMES AND ACTIVITIES: AGES 7-10

Parents learn a variety of games and strategies to help their children improve their literacy skills. For example, this series teaches parents ways to use creative cooking, phonics bingo, flap books, silly sentence songs, and other hands-on activities to strengthen their children's reading and oral expression, listening and writing skills, and phonemic awareness.